AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Health officials say students at an east Georgia high school will continue to be tested for tuberculosis after the holidays as a precaution.

Tammy Burdeaux, a nursing and clinical director with the East Central Health District, says officials will re-examine Butler High School students who returned negative skin tests for tuberculosis bacteria during the initial rounds of testing.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that three students have been diagnosed with tuberculosis and are out of school receiving treatment. The initial patient showed signs of the illness in October.

Earlier, the health department tested 500 people for the disease and 75 of them showed signs of TB exposure. However, most people in the county who show signs of TB exposure never develop the disease.

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